Kittitas County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Thompson Killed in the Line of Duty

Kittitas County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Thompson, a member of Local 760 in Yakima, Washington, was fatally shot Tuesday by a suspect who evaded a traffic stop. A second officer, Benito Chavez, was injured in the shooting and is in satisfactory condition. The suspect was shot and killed.

“This is just devastating,” said Leonard Crouch, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 760. “These are very close-knit communities and it is affecting everyone.”

Thompson, 42, was raised in Walla Walla and attended Central Washington University. He was married with three children and is the first law enforcement officer to be shot and killed in Kittitas County since 1927.

Chavez, 22, remains in the hospital with a shattered femur and faces a long recovery.